Veriax
by joethulhu
Summary: An ex-Legionary named Veriax arrives in Cyrodiil for the first time since he was very young. He sets out on a quest to his hometown of Anvil, receiving disastrous news about an attack on the chapel on his way.


A/N: This fanfiction is based upon am as-of-yet incomplete Let's Play of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It completely disregards the main quest, but will eventually cover the Knights of the Nine expansion pack, which is the main storyline of the LP. Being an RP, however, there will be multiple quests encountered and completed on the way to Anvil and (possibly) afterwards. As of such, it may take a long, long time to get to Anvil. As of this writing the LP is at about 40 videos, and has just reached the Imperial City. You can find the Let's Play posted on YouTube, by someone going by the username Veriax, also the name of their Oblivion character.

The ship hit a large wave in the ocean. The rock that followed caused Veriax to hit his head on the wooden headboard and awake. He jumped out of his bed, expecting an enemy attack. When he was in the military they'd be woken up at night often for such things. He hadn't quite gotten used to civilian life yet. He was still a soldier – after all, he continued to lug around his rusty suit of Imperial armor. He decided that, while awake, he would fill out his immigration forms. First item on the list: short autobiography. Veriax groaned and got to work.

His parents died when he was very young. Taken into the care of a mostly absent uncle living in Morrowind, he escaped to join the Imperial Legion when he was eighteen. He took many tours of duty around Tamriel, but somehow hadn't been to Cyrodiil since his parents died. More recently he'd been stationed in Solstheim, at Fort Frostmoth. After a few years, he fell ill from a bite by a diseased wolf. Bedridden for months, he became severely weakened. Due to this, he was discharged from the Imperial Legion. They paid for his passage on a boat to Cyrodiil, and a bit extra to make his way in the world, a reward for twelve years of good, hard service.

Finishing this, he sighed and set the pencil down. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, taking in his life so far. He was only 30 years old, but had experienced enough for a lifetime. He continued to fill out the forms.

Birthsign: The Ritual.

Occupation: Soldier.

Skills: Blade, Marksman, Alchemy, Armorer.

Combat Experience: Imperial Legion veteran.

Destination: Leyawiin.

Having finished that, Veriax settled back down to sleep until they docked in the morning.

In the morning, an officer on the ship went around and woke everyone. Veriax had hardly slept between awakening in the night, and had no trouble waking again. His bags were waiting for him outside the ship, with his gold, armor, armorer's hammers to repair his weapons, some food, a bow, arrows and a sword inside. After he fetched these items from the bag and equipped them, a horseman came bounding through the gate of the town and down the nearby bridge, almost running him over. He fell backwards from shock. Standing again and brushing dirt off his armor, he reflected that this was not a good way to start life in Cyrodiil. The horseman then came bounding down the dock from the other way, but Veriax managed to dodge it. It was then that he noticed thunderclouds rolling in. There was a clap of thunder and a flash of lightening and it began to rain.

"Bloody typical," he muttered under his breath.

After walking around for a few minutes, Veriax sighted a fellow passenger on the ship, Falcedon Jucania. He walked over to say farewell, and ask for directions. In their time on the boat, Falcedon had often talked of how excited he was to see his hometown of Leyawiin again.

"Excuse me, Falcedon – could you give me some directions?"

"Well, that depends, what are you looking for?"

"Hmm. Tell me about the local landmarks."

"If I remember correctly, the castle's to the east, and the chapel near the west gate. Shops, guilds and inns are south of the chapel. Some shops are by the north wall."

"Right, thanks. Any rumors you've heard in these past few minutes, then?"

"There are complaints that Rosentia Gallenus's house has been smelling awful, like meat left out to spoil. Not sure why townsfolk would be smelling people's houses, but still, it might be worth checking it out. You may if you like, I've got family to find."

"Tell me more about Rosentia Gallenus," Veriax said, crossing his arms. This was interesting – a mystery in town.

"Well, they say that every time you pass by her house, there are odd animal noises and that foul odor. Maybe she's caring for some sick pet or something. Everyone's clueless. Whatever it is, she should clean up her act. It's surprising that a wealthy woman like that would let her property fall into such disarray."

"You knew her, did you?"

"Only barely. But she was known around town. Leyawiin's a small town, you get to know everyone, and I doubt her social status has changed much in the few years I was absent."

"Right. Well, Falcedon, I suppose this is goodbye. I don't expect to hang around Leyawiin more than a few days – after that, I'm off to Anvil, my own hometown."

"Ah. I wish you well on your quest, then, Veriax. If you happen to run into trouble during your time in town, come find me."

"Will do. Goodbye, Falcedon."

Veriax waved to him and set off to the south side of town. First order of business was finding a good inn to stay for the next few nights. After three weeks of sleeping on a horrible, hard, flea-infested mattress, it would be wonderful to have a nice, soft bed to sleep in. Meanwhile, it had begun to flood in town; wooden walkways rising above the ground for the public to walk across. Veriax stuck close to them. He hated getting his boots wet. If it ended up that he had to cross a body of water, he always carried the boots in his hands, far above the water line.

He crossed the castle on the way to the shopping district. Before getting too far, he came across a bakery. The wonderful smell of baking pies called to him, and besides – he didn't want to get scurvy. Better have a blackcurrant pie. While in the bakery, he also purchased some potato bread for making potions to heal his wounds. He'd also need to purchase a mortar and pestle while in town.

As he left the shop it stopped raining, though Veriax had a feeling it wouldn't last long – and it didn't. Almost immediately after the last rain cloud had left, another set it. He was not impressed with the weather in Leyawiin. Looking quickly for a temporary shelter (his armor was beginning to rust), he dashed inside the chapel. He figured it would be a good idea to say a short prayer to his guardian, Mara. Being very religious, it was pretty much a necessity for his to stop for a prayer after three weeks at sea. He stood at the altar and said a quick prayer. Then he made a mental note to make a pilgrimage to Mara's wayshrine in Cyrodiil.

"I sure hope nothing happens here like the incident in Anvil…"

Veriax looked up quickly. It'd been the chapel priest who'd spoken, to no one in particular. Veriax walked up to him.

"Incident in Anvil? What do you mean?"

"You don't know?" The priest, a light-skinned dark elf with thin, heavyset eyes, glared at him as if he were an idiotic child.

"No – I've just arrived here on Cyrodiil by boat. Anvil is my hometown. Tell me, what happened?"

"The worst thing is, no one even knows what happened. People heard the screams, but when the broke down the chapel doors, everyone was already dead!"

Veriax was shocked. He took a moment to sit and consider this fact. Anvil, his hometown, had been subject to a vicious attack – in the chapel, no less! After a moment, he decided that it'd just have to make him travel to Anvil that much faster. He had to find out what happened. First, however, he had to find an inn. It was only noon, but it'd be better to have a luxury room ready then to purchase a shoddy one when he was half asleep. As he left the chapel, he noticed the sign for an inn called Three Sisters, and headed towards it.

As he entered he heard others discussing the chapel attack. Apparently it was big news, not only to Anvil natives. He walked over to the woman tending the desk, a Khajiit.

"Excuse me?" he asked. "This is an inn, correct?"

She smiled. "Yes. You've found the Three Sisters. Beds and food. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for. I'm Shuravi, the sister-that-works-and-worries. Shamada is sweet and decorative. Shomara is dumb as a post. But she can cook, at least."

"I'll purchase a bed for the night, then. I can afford a luxury – I've been on a boat for three weeks, and before that serving nonstop in the Imperial Legion."

"I've got just the thing for you," she said, fetching a brass key from the rack behind her. "A lovely suite on the second floor, for only 40 gold a night. Quite a steal. Interested?"

"Yes, please."

"Of course you are. You'd be silly not to be. It's just up the stairs there. Second floor, east wing. All the comforts of home."

He handed over the gold and she gave him the key. Before heading off he purchased a few ingredients for potions, after which he headed up to the room. It was large, two whole rooms, one with a table towards the entrance, and column in the middle, and another containing a large, soft bed with a green satin comforter and bedside table. There was even a meal already laid out on the table. Seeing this, Veriax realized he hadn't eaten all day. He ate his blackcurrant pie and the meal laid out. Before heading into the bedroom to lie on the bed for a moment. Veriax was very tempted to just close his eyes and go to sleep then and there, but it was only about three in the afternoon, and he had to go and see Rosentia Gallenus about her house. He borrowed a map of town from Shuravi and headed out.


End file.
